If You Want Me To
by xSarcasticNinjax
Summary: "Katniss?" Peeta asked softly. "Say something, please." He would've given her anything. He would've followed her anywhere. And now he was giving up on her. One-shot based on the song Say Something by A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera.


**I decided to write this 'cause I was bored and "Say Something" was stuck in my head. So uh... yeah, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Can't think of an interesting disclaimer right now. The Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins and "Say Something" belongs to A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera. **

Say Something

_Six year-old Peeta walked up to the small beat-up schoohouse, hand-in-hand with his father. His father pushed the door open and led him along the somewhat crowded hallway._

_As they walked, Peeta glanced around at all the kids. They all looked pretty similar: boys with their hair cut short and plain shirts, girls with their hair in one braid down their backs and plain dresses._

_However, one particular girl caught his eye. She had dark brown hair, split into two braids instead of one. She had stormy grey eyes and walked with her head held high._

_Peeta thought she looked prettier than all of the other girls._

_"See that girl?" Peeta's father murmured in Peeta's ear, pointing at the dark-haired girl. Peeta nodded. "I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner."_

_Peeta glanced at the woman walking with the little girl. She was quite beautiful, with her blond hair and pretty blue eyes._

_The little boy blinked. "A coal miner?" he repeated. "Why would she want a coal miner if could've had you?"_

_Peeta's father sighed. "Because when he sings... even the birds stop to listen."_

That does sound pretty nice, _little Peeta thought, gazing after the little girl._

* * *

><p><em>Peeta sat in one of the small chairs, gazing nervously at the music teacher. He hoped the teacher wouldn't call on him. He was awful at singsin; his mother'd screeched at him to stop whever he did.<em>

_"Alright, who knows the Valley Song?" the teacher called._

_Before she'd even finished speaking, a little hand shot up. Peeta craned his neck to see who it was._

_It was the dark-haired girl from that morning._

_"Okay Katniss, would you like to sing it for us?" the teacher suggested. Katniss nodded._

Katniss, _Peeta thought to himself. _Her name is Katniss.

_The teacher grabbed a small stool and placed it at the front of the classroom. "You can sit up here so everyone can see you," she told Katniss. Katniss made her way to the front of the classroom and hopped up onto the stool._

_Katniss opened her mouth and began singing._

_"_Deep in the meadow, under the willow

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow

Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes

And when again they open, the sun will rise

_"_Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you_"_

_As Katniss sang, everyone fell silent. _Everyone. _Including the birds singing in the trees outside. _"Because when he sings... even the birds stop to listen," _Peeta's father's voice echoed in his ears._

_"_Deep in the meadow, under the willow

A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray

Forget your woes and let your troubles lay

And when again it's morning, they'll wash away

_"_Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you_"_

_When Katniss finished, silence filled the room._

_Then one girl started clapping, then a boy, then another girl, and soon the room was filled with thunderous applause._

_Katniss hopped off the stool and went back to her seat, a small smile gracing her face. _

_Peeta thought she looked even rpettier when she was smiling._

* * *

><p><em>Nine year-old Peeta sat on theg round, leaning against the wall behind him as he waited for his father to pick him up from school.<em>

_He'd been waiting for about five minutes when another body plopped down a few feet away, leaning against the wall like him._

_Katniss._

_Peeta glanced at the ground. He really wanted to say something to her, but he didn't know what._

_Soon Peeta's father arrived. AS he led Peeta away, the little boy glanced back at Katniss. She was playing with little pebbles on the ground._

_Peeta promised himself that he would talk to her the next time he got the chance._

* * *

><p><em>Eleven year-old Peeta sat at the counter, carefully frosting a chocolate cake. As he worked, he sighed to himself. He still hadn't mustered up enough courage to talk to Katniss, even though he could've easily just walk up to her and told her he was sorry about her father's death.<em>

_A small, timid knock sounded from the other side of the back door, jolting Peeta out of his thoughts. Peeta's mother huffed impatiently as she got up to open it._

_"What is it?" she snapped after opening the door. Peeta couldn't see who it is; a shelf obscurring his view. _

_As small, shaky voice stuttered back,"Um, I was j-just wondering if, uh, y-you would like-"_

_"No, we don't want your stupid baby clothes," Peeta's mother snapped. "Get lost before I slap you for wasting my time."_

_Peeta instantly felt sorry for the child talking to his mother. He'd been on the recieving end of his mother's anger more than a few times. Plus, it was clear from the sound of her chattering teeth and small whimpers that she was freezing and desperate for food and warmth._

_Peeta's mother slammed the door and went back to her work, muttering curses under her breath. After a few moments of silence, she got up to go to another room. As soon as she left the room, Peeta went over to the window to see if he could still spot the girl that was trying to sell her baby clothes._

_What he saw nearly made his jaw drop. _

_It was Katniss Everdeen._

_Peeta heard the sound of his mother's footsteps returning and he hurried back to the counter. He had just picked the frosting bag back up when his mother appeared at the doorway with basket of bread._

_As Peeta frosted the cake, he couldn't get the picture of Katniss, curled up in a soggy ball on the ground, unmoving, or her chattering teeth and small, shaky voice out of his head._

_"Peeta, go put these loaves in the basket on the front counter," his mother ordered, her voice cold like always._

_As Peeta took the loaves from his mother, he got an idea. He knew he would have to pay, but he need to help Katniss._

_As Peeta approached the fireplace on his way to the front counter, he pretended to trip over a loose piece of floorboard and gasped as the freshly-baked bread flew into the fireplace. _

_His mother turned at Peeta's gasp and, seeing the burning bread, grabbed a dirty rag to put the fire out. But by the time the fire was out, the bread was burned so bad that no one would buy it._

_"You useless piece of filth!" Peeta's mother screamed at him. "What is wrong with you?!"_

_She forced him out the backdoor, all the while yelling at him. _

_"Go feed it to the pigs," she yelled, shoving the bread into his arms. "After all, you're one too." She slammed the door in his face. _

_Peeta walked over ot the pig pen, tossing the bread in. He glanced over at Katniss, who had been watching the whole times, and debated whether to go hand it her or just throw it out in the rain._

_His gut feeling told him to go hand it to her, but he didn't want to endure more of his mother's wrath if she saw. So instead he just tossed the bread out at Katniss._

_As Peeta walked back inside the bakery, he told himself what a coward he was._

* * *

><p>All of these memories flashed through sisteen year-old Peeta's head as he lay in the cave, gazing at Katniss and waiting for her to speak.<p>

"Katniss?" Peeta asked softly.

Silence.

"Say something, please," he pleaded. His worst nightmare was coming true. Katniss was rejecting him.

"I'm not good at saying something." Katniss' voice broke the silence.

"Then come here," Peeta said. "Please."

Katniss hesitated. The she scooted forward and lay down next to him, her head resting on Peeta's chest.

To the rest of Panem, it looked like two lovers, snuggling up together.

Only Peeta could feel the stiffness in Katniss' body and her aura of reluctance as she lay next him.

* * *

><p>Peeta ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Katniss ran alongside him, shooting arrows at any mutts that came close.<p>

They broke through the trees and into the Cornucopia clearing. Katniss aimed an arrow and Cato, who was also running toward the Cornucopia, but it bounced harmlessly off him.

All of a sudden, a bolt of pain shot up Peeta's leg and he winced, slowing down.

"Come on, Peeta!" Katniss yelled.

Peeta could hear the muttations coming closer. "Go, Katniss!" he yelled desperately, making a shooing motion with his hands. "Go! RUN!"

To his panic, Katniss ran back at him and looped her arm around his shoulder, helping him limp rapidly forward.

They finally made it up onto the Cornucopia, only for Katniss to be hauled up by Cato.

The battle was long and bloody, but finally Cato was dead and it was just them left.

Claudius Templesmith announced the amendment of the rule change.

Wordlessly, Katniss held out her hand, filled with nightlock.

"I love you," Peeta said, gazing into her eyes, unblinking.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

They brought the nightlock to their mouths and put them in.

"Stop! Stop!" Claudius Templesmith's panicked voice boomed through the arena.

Katniss spit the berries out onto the ground, but it was too late for Peeta. He'd already swallowed.

Peeta collapsed to the ground and Katniss let out a shriek. She fell to her knees beside him.

"Peeta," she whispered.

"Katniss," Peeta whispered back.

There was silence as Katniss desperately racked her brain for a way to save Peeta.

"Say something," Peeta pleaded as his breath grew ragged. "Please."

"I love you," Katniss whispered.

A small smile graced Peeta's face. He was glad he would be able to hear those words as his world faded into oblivion.

**The is the fastest I've ever written a one-shot and it's very possibly my worst. Personally I think the ending sucked. I know the summary pretty much had nothing to do with the actual story. I'm sorry, I'm kind of in a hurry right now. **

**Please review telling me what you think!**


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